My son’s birthday is right after Christmas… so needless to say, he gets a lot of cash and coins from relatives. He had it stashed in various places all over his room, because of course he’d rather play with toys than the ol’ dollar bills. I wanted to teach him about the importance of a dollar so I started the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Jr. I’m very passionate about my kids learning good money habits… because that is one of my main weaknesses! Luckily for us, my husband is Dave Ramsey’s twin! ha.
Along with this book, Dave has a
great web site for kids. He uses a envelope system for saving, spending and giving. His book comes with a chart to keep track of chores and commission. I love how you get fined for bad behavior!! Basically you pay your child at the end of the week, then they sort the money into the envelopes. 10% goes into savings and giving, the rest in spending. Just like the real world. I also love that part.
Well, we did Dave’s chart for a while and when you have scatterbrained, non-interested 5 year old, you have to mix it up a bit. So I headed to Mardels and found this awesome magnetic chore chart that has pictures of the chores. I decided the smiley face magnets would equal a dime.
This new chart has really worked for my son. I hung it low enough to where he can add the magnets when he does a chore. He now knows that if he wants something, he needs to work for it. Granted there are times that he still whines, begs and throws fits for something, but in general he is becoming a mini money and math mogul. He loves to sort his money into the envelopes and take the give one to the church.
To date, he has given the church nearly $12. Not bad for a few months of making a dime per chore and me forgetting to pay him some weeks! (remember I told you I was bad with money!) What I love is that he is so proud and happy to give it. Our church has this cool coin
machine that kids can drop change in and get a receipt. So that part is fun too! I make sure to talk about his giving to our pastors while he is standing close enough to eavesdrop:-)
What do you do to teach your kids about money?
Amy Locurto is a mom of two and graphic designer, Co-Founder of a photography blog iHeartFaces.com and provides free downloads, recipes and creative ideas on her personal blog. She sometimes even gets a little sleep!
Well, we did Dave’s chart for a while and when you have scatterbrained, non-interested 5 year old, you have to mix it up a bit. So I headed to Mardels and found this awesome magnetic chore chart that has pictures of the chores. I decided the smiley face magnets would equal a dime.
I love this. My oldest has been a math and money mogul since the age of 4. All the boys get allowances and pay for their own toys. I need to implement a more formal chore chart – so I really appreciate this information!